Midwives: Closing north London maternity ward is 'madness'

Local nurses, midwives and families are worried about proposals to close one of two north London maternity wards.

The NHS board covering the area has been running a consultation to close a unit at either the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead or the Whittington in Archway.

The Royal College of Midwives has been protesting in the run up to the consultation's conclusion on Sunday.

One Archway mother said a closure would be a "tragedy".

The NHS North Central London Integrated Care Board, which covers Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, and Islington, said the number of maternity units it runs needed to be reduced from five to four.

It said the remaining units would be upgraded to provide "very high level" care.

Mayani Muthuveloe from the Whittington Maternity and Neonatal Voices, a feedback group for mothers using the service, said closing the Whittington unit would reduce the choice available for prospective mothers.

She said: "It might be that the impact to women would mean they have to travel further, they might not be going to the hospital that they feel the safest in.

"If the hospital is close to you and your family can support you through that time, if you're further away from that they're removing you from your support network."

The NHS said the needs of the community are changing, as birth rates in the area have plummeted. Camden has the second-lowest birth rate in the country, while the average house price in the area is more than £1m.

Between 2012 and 2021 there was a 17% decrease in London's birth rate, accounting for 23,000 fewer babies in the capital, according to data from London Councils.

Half of the cots at the Royal Free Hospital neonatal unit were not in use on any given day, and they have fewer than 50 births a year at the Edgware Birth Centre, the data showed.

The NHS board said high numbers of staff vacancies in midwifery and neonatal nursing meant the quality of care could be impacted, including measures like temporarily closing the midwife centre.

Ms Muthuveloe said she believed staff shortages was one of the main issues the NHS needed to address, before deciding to close.

"Not because women aren't asking for those," she said. "They're choosing to birth somewhere else, how much of that is because there isn't the staff to support women to give birth."

Sean O'Sullivan, head of health and social policy at the Royal College of Midwives said: "At a time when maternity services across the UK are more stretched than ever its madness to contemplate closing either of these maternity units.

"Both the Whittington and the Royal Free serve thousands of pregnant women and new mothers every year and are badly needed.

"We are not calling for the status quo. What we want to see is better, higher quality and safer services and this should require an upgrade of services - not their closure. It also means having enough maternity units and midwives to cover the demand."

"Closing maternity and neonatal services at either site could be disastrous for women with the highest risk pregnancies. We also know that women from Asian and Black backgrounds and socially deprived areas are more likely to experience poor outcomes. In all of these circumstances, having good, tailored care is hugely important."

Any decision will not be confirmed before January 2025, and changes will take a year or two to be implemented, the NHS said.

The public consultation is open until Sunday night.

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